Brush and mop holder



Oct. 27, 1942.

c. FATLAND snusn AND MOP HOLDER fined Jul -1'}, 1939 Invenforz Patented Oct. 27, 1942 UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE enosn AND MOP HOLDER Conrad Fatland, Chicago, 111. Application July 17, 1939, Serial No. 284,810

4 Claims.

This invention relates to brush and mop holders. One object of the invention is to provide a device in which a brush or a mop may be easily inserted. Another object is to provide such a device in simple form whereby a brush may be held in a suitably inclined position with reference to the longitudinal plane of the handle. A further object is to provide such a device in a form wherein the compression of the spring employed will be approximately the same when either a brush or a mop cloth is clamped against the head, so that the device may be satisfactorily used with a brush or with a mop as may be desired. Other objects of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the accompanying drawing and the following description thereof. I

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing comprising one sheet wherein:

Figure l is a front elevation of the holder with a mop swab held therein;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the holder as illustrated in Figure 1; and

Figures 3 and 4 are similar views of the holder with, however, a brush shown in dotted lines held therein Continuing to refer to the drawing, applicants holder comprises a handle H upon one end of which is mounted a head i2, preferably fixed thereto, A brush clamping edge I3, see Figure 4, is fixed along one of the long sides of the head and in actual practice is a flange formed integrally therewith. 'C'oacting with the clamping edge I3 is a clamping means comprising bail members 26 having end jaw members consisting of off-set portions 3| and a connecting bar 32. The inner ends of the bail members 26 are loosely attached to a lever plate 27 by inserting them in openings M. This lever plate 21 has a loop 28 rolled therein through which may be passed one of the coils of the coil spring l5 while the other end 29 of the lever plate 21 may be shaped to form a gripping means so that the bail elements 26 may be moved from the position I shown in Figures 1 and 2 to the positions shown in Figures 3 and 4:.

It will be noted that the bail members 26 are positioned with respect to the transverse head i3 by means of slots or other openings 39 which are in the opposed ends of the transverse member I3 on a side thereof opposite to the side of the lever plate 27 of a plane containing the axis of the handle and the longitudinal axis of the transverse member l3. By this arrangement,

when the lever plate 21 is in the position shown the lever member 21 is dropped into the position shown'in Figures 3 and 4 and the spring i5 again s'lightlycontracted, a brush may be inserted between the jaw member 32 and the transverse head I3 and still the spring will supply about the same amount of pressure for holding the brush in a position canted with respect to the handle l|, thereby providing the user with a handle brush wherein the bristles will be parallel to the floor when the handle I is normally held.

When it is desired to insert a mop cloth the handle 23, of the lever plate 21, is turned downward, thus carrying downwardly the bar 32 and.

opening the clamping jaws so that the cloth may be readily passed between them, preferably with the portions 34 and 35 on opposite sides of the bar 32. The handle 29 is then turned upwardly thus forcing the clamping jaws closer together and firmly clamping the mop cloth between the jaws. Obviously, the cloth may be readily removed by merely turning the handle downwardly to the position of Fig, 4 and then pulling the cloth outwardly from the jaws.

When it is desired to insert the brush, the handle 29 is turned downwardly, as in Fig. 4.

The clamping members l3 and 3| will then be spaced somewhat less than the width of the brush, and the brush may then be readily inserted by placing one edge on the jaws 3| and then forcing them outwardly until the other edge of the brush can be forced beyond the edge l3 of the head.

By suitably forming the arms 30 and the lever plate 21, so as to position the hooks 3| and the openings the proper distances from the handle I I, the inclination of the brush, with reference to the handle, when in use may be made as desired. Or the inclination of the brush may be varied by varying the length of the bars 30. In order to prevent movement of the arms 30 with reference to the head |2, the arms are positioned in slots 39 in the head.

It will be understood that the distance between the two jaws of the clamping means for the brush, before the brush is inserted, should be materially less than the width of the brush, so that the spring force will be sufficient to firmly hold the brush when it is inserted. However, brushes of somewhat varying widths may be used, as the compression of the spring may vary somewhat without interfering with the operation of the brush.

In order to make it practicable to use the same mechanism for either a mop cloth or a brush in a suitably inclined position, the distance from the center of the pivot loop 28 to a point 42 on the face of lever midway between and opposite the openings 4!, should be approximately one half that of the width of the brush; so that the distance between the positions of the openings 4| when the lever is shifted from the down to the up position will be approximately the same as that of the wider brush to be used. This will make the compression of the spring approximately the same when a brush approximately two and one half inches wide is clamped between the clamping means with the lever down as when a mop of approximately one half inch is clamped with the lever up. Briefly, the perpendicular distance along the face of the lever from the pivot to the perpendicular bisector of a line connecting the openings 4! should be approximately one half the maximum width of the brushes to be used.

I claim as my invention:

1. A combination mop and brush holder comprising a handle, an elongated flat transverse member mounted on one end of said handle with its plane at right angles to the axis of the handle, means to one side of a plane containing the axis of the handle disposed on one of the long sides of said elongated member for engaging a brush or mop swab, means on the other side of said plane adjacent the other long edge of said elongated member for holding bail elements and a springoperated lever mounted on the handle and connected to said bail elements at points disposed on the same side of said plane as the means for engaging the brush or swab whereby movement ends of the bail elements from a position close to said plane for holding a swab to a position spaced from said plane for holding a brush.

2. A brush and mop holder comprising a handle, a head comprising a clamping jaw fixed to the end of the handle, a second jaw having arms movably mounted in the head, a coil spring encircling said handle with one end attached to the handle end, and a lever having one end pivoted to the free end of the spring and having ears extending angularly from the central portion of the lever to which the arms of the said movable jaw are respectively pivoted, the distance along the face of the lever from the center of the lever pivot to the perpendicular bisector of a line connecting the openings in the ears of the lever being approximately one-half /2) of that of the predetermined width of the brush to be held between the said two jaws whereby when the position of the lever is reversed from that in which a brush is held between the said two jaws to that in which a mop swab is clamped against the fixed jaw the compression of the spring will remain approximately the same.

3. A combination mop and brush holder comprising a handle, a head member mounted on one end of said handle, to one side of a plane containing the axis of the handle a fixed jaw member disposed outwardly on said head member, on the other side of said plane a pair of spaced openings in said head substantially equidistant from said plane, a bail element having a jaw member on its outer end disposed in each opening, and a lever movably mounted on the handle on the same side of said plane as the fixed jaw member, said bail elements being connected to said lever on said last named side of said plane, whereby movement of the lever from a closed position wherein the jaw members on the bail elements are substantially in said plane for holding a swab to the fixed jaw to an open position will cause said jaw members on said bail elements to move outwardly away from said plane so that a brush may be positioned between them and the fixed jaw member at a predetermined angle with respect to the handle.

4. A combination brush and mop holder comprising a handle, an elongated transverse member mounted on one end of said handle with its face in a plane at right angles to the axis of the handle, each edge of said transverse member being positioned a substantial distance laterally away from a line drawn along its face through the axis of the handle extended, the width of said transverse member being approximately the same as the diameter of the handle end, openings in the face of the opposite ends of the said transverse member adjacent one of its long edges, an outwardly directed jaw element disposed along the opposite long edge of said transverse member, a coil spring encircling the handle adjacent said transverse member, a lever having one end pivoted x to the free end of said spring on the same side of of said spring-operated lever w1ll move the outer the handle as the said outwardly directed jaw element and having ears extending angularly from the central portion of the lever, a jaw having arms movably mounted in the aforesaid openings with their free ends respectively pivoted to said ears, the length of said arms being so predetermined that when said movable jaw is extended outwardly by the manipulation of said lever the aforesaid two jaws will then be spaced somewhat less than the width of a brush to be inserted, the aforesaid openings and the said outwardly directed jaw being so spaced laterally away from the aforesaid line drawn through the axis of the handle extended that when the said movable jaw is extended outwardly and a brush is clamped between the said two jaws the brush will be held at a predetermined angle with the axis of the handle, all in a manner whereby said movable jaw may be used in its extended position to hold a brush between itself and said outwardly directed jaw and in its closed position to hold a mop between itself and said latter jaw.

CONRAD FATLAND. 

